This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

New York fire chief killed in house blast remembered as hero at funeral

Two men who have plead not guilty on drug charges held without bail

The coffin of Michael Fahy, a 44-year-old battalion chief with the New York City Fire Department, arrives on a fire truck at the Annunciation-Our Lady of Fatima parish during his funeral service in Yonkers, N.Y., on Saturday. Fahy was killed Tuesday by debris after the house he and his firefighters were responding to exploded. (AMIR LEVY / New York Times)

By Verena DobnikThe Associated Press

Sat., Oct. 1, 2016

YONKERS, N.Y.—A New York City fire battalion chief killed by debris from a house explosion last week was remembered Saturday as a hero and a dedicated family man at his funeral service attended by thousands of firefighters, elected officials, friends and family.

Michael Fahy’s wife and two of their three young children spoke tenderly about him at the Roman Catholic mass at the Annunciation Church, in Yonkers, that Cardinal Timothy Dolan helped officiate.

Through tears, his wife, Fiona, called him “the love of her life” and told the mourners how the only thing he loved more than his work was his family.

“New York knows what we’ve always known, that Mike Fahy was a hero,” she added. “I’m nowhere near trying to make sense of any of this.”

Article Continued Below

“Dad, I could always count on you,” said Michael, the oldest of the three children, ages 6, 8 and 11. “I know you were proud of me, and I’m so proud of you.”

The 17-year fire department veteran died Tuesday morning. He was directing operations from the street when he was struck by debris when the house in the Bronx exploded. Authorities say a tampered gas main linked to a marijuana growing operation may be to blame.

The 44-year-old Fahy, who was the son of a fire chief, was posthumously promoted on Thursday from battalion chief to deputy chief by the FDNY. He had a doctorate from New York Law School.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the explosion.

Authorities are investigating whether the alleged growers tampered with gas lines and mishandled other materials in ways that caused the explosion.

Indoor marijuana farmers can create potential fire hazards by using natural gas, propane or butane to power carbon dioxide generators that make the plants grow. In recent years across the country, similar methods used to produce more potent marijuana extracts have resulted in explosions and other catastrophes.

Indoor gas use “is a standard way to grow marijuana,” says Michael O’Hare, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley who is an expert in cannabis cultivation. “If you raise the CO2 level, it’ll grow faster.”

Some growers rely on propane or butane gas because using large amounts of metred gas from a utility could draw the attention of authorities, who might question why so much fuel is needed for a house of a certain size, O’Hare said. In those conditions, a gas leak could spell disaster, he said.

An hour before the explosion at about 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the Bronx, dozens of nearby residents said they could smell gas wafting over the neighbourhood. The house had already been evacuated and fire personnel were on the scene when the blast sent debris flying, killing Chief Michael Fahy, a 17-year fire department veteran and father of three.

Two suspects, Garivaldi Castillo and Julio Salcedo, were arrested and are being held on drug charges while authorities try to determine whether there is evidence they could result in more serious counts related to Fahy’s death.

Prosecutors said in court this week that the two-story Bronx property was full of combustible items related to the pot operation, including grow lamps and vats of liquid fertilizer. Windows were sealed and other areas covered with extra insulation to retain heat. Plants the size of “small trees” were growing in bedrooms on the upper floor.

A lawyer for the 32-year-old Castillo has questioned his connections to the house. Castillo has pleaded not guilty. Salcedo, 34, was arraigned late Friday, pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Firefighters packed the courthouse where Salcedo was arraigned. Earlier, as he walked into a Bronx precinct, some firefighters told him to “burn in hell,” The New York Daily News reported.

Given that only about half of U.S. states have legalized marijuana, either for medical or recreational use, it’s impossible to estimate how many such growth labs exist, O’Hare said.

In marijuana production-related accidents, more than 30 people were injured last year in Colorado from butane explosions involving hash oil, a concentrated form of marijuana extracted from the plant’s leaves and flowers.

Last year, a marijuana dispensary in Santa Fe, N.M., was engulfed in flames after a blast that injured two workers. Fire department investigators said a butane leak met with an ignition source, causing an explosion powerful enough to separate the roof from the wall and melt fluorescent lights.

And in Washington state, federal prosecutors have brought charges in five cases involving explosions during hash oil production. The former mayor of Bellevue, Wash, died while trying to escape a fire linked to such activity.

In the past year or so, an especially strong concentrate is appearing — “shatter,” a form of cannabis wax derived from butane hash oil that is about five times more potent and faster-acting than unrefined smoked cannabis. It’s legal for recreational use in states such as Colorado and Washington, but sold in medical marijuana dispensaries in other states.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com